The next morning, as soon as Harano got up, good news arrived: the Matsudaira family had already abandoned their raid, burning their camp and retreating along the Spring River. Not long after, Oda Nobunaga also issued the order to return to Nagano Castle.
At last, the Battle of East Tsubono was over. In name, they had repelled the Matsudaira family and even shot the enemy general, so the results weren't bad on paper. But in reality, it was an utter defeat—a bunch of people returned home with their tails between their legs, and Oda Nobunaga was likely to face criticism from the old-guard household retainers.
Of course, this had little to do with Harano; how Oda Nobunaga took his scolding was none of his business. The only thing was, he couldn't return to Takeshige Manor to continue his soy sauce empire right away—he'd been paid as a doctor, so he had to stick around until the wounded were more or less recovered.
